Tuesday, November 07, 2006

In the Spotlight

Last Tuesday I found out I got a principal, paying role as a nurse in a patient training video. The script arrived late that afternoon for the shoot, which was Wednesday. I had to memorize several pages of copy about how to use a blood pressure monitor.

I showed up the next morning a few minutes before 8:30, my assigned call time. The producer introduced me to the director, who looked at me and said, "You're early."My call time had been changed to noon. When I returned, they weren't going to need me until after lunch, which was supposed to be at 1:00 but wound up being at 1:30. That's showbiz.

Then I learned that I'd be saying my lines to several extras, one man I'd worked with before. He of course assumed I was an extra too, but then I showed him all the lines I'd had to learn.

Finally around 2:00 came hair and makeup. I'd pulled my curly hair into a neat ponytail, and the makeup woman tamed any frizz. Garbed in a labcoat (and a skirt, tho I stood behind a table and my legs couldn't be seen), I made my way to the set.

One of the clients came up to me. He asked if I'd had more hair at the audition, and that after looking at so many people on the tape he couldn't remember. He asked me to read some of the script, so I did. Then he smiled and said something like, "Oh, yes. You were the only one who said it that way."

So that's the key to getting acting work: be lucky enough to do what the client is looking for.